Directory

Shaun A. Thomas

Underpinning much of my past and present research is a focus on the dynamic nature of neighborhoods. The manner in which neighborhoods change, the causes associated with these changes, and the rapidity with which these changes transpire are issues I explore.

Some of my prior publications have centered on developing structural and cultural explanations for regional variations in rates of violence and explicating the criminological impact of civic engagement and civic oriented communities. Much of my current research centers on investigating social theories of variation in the nature and prevalence of crime across places and social groups as well as theories that attempt to account for the race, poverty, and crime nexus. Another topic integral to my research program is the investigation of the criminological impact of social and institutional isolation, especially among youth. In two projects, a colleague and I proposed that structural resource deprivation and a weak civic participatory culture foster institutional isolation among youth, which, in turn, elevates rates of crime.

Violence, race and crime, poverty and crime, communities and crime, policing, risk of crime, institutions of social control, juvenile justice, institutionally isolated youth, crime as a public health issue, the nature of violence, social justice, victimology, deviant behavior, and rural and urban studies.